A father and son are taking on the State to in a bid to stop the Sisters of Charity from taking ownership of the proposed €300million National Maternity Hospital.

Veteran campaigner Dick Spicer, 70, and his son Norman have launched a High Court challenge against the decision, which they claim is unconstitutional.

Dick Spicer says the move to hand over control of the new maternity hospital is unconstitutional (Image: Atheist Ireland)

The Spicers were keen to state that they had no issue with any religious order, or their beliefs, but rather the Government, for what they said was the "inexplicable decision" to build the new hospital at St Vincent's.

There was a public outcry when it announced last month that the Sisters were to be handed full ownership of the taxpayer-funded facility, which will be built on the St Vincent’s Hospital campus in Dublin 4.

Mr Spicer, a co-founder of the Campaign to Separate Church and State, said: "There is a State-owned site in Tallaght right beside a major hospital with gynaecology.

"Surely to goodness, if they moved fast, they would have all the advantages and none of the disadvantages that go with [the current proposal to build on the Vincent's campus].

"I mean look at the disadvantages they're wrestling with – why, why, why are they going to Vincent's?"

He continued: "What sort of forces are at work that have led to this decision. It's inexplicable, it defies logic."

While Health Minister Simon Harris has insisted the nuns would not have any say over medical decisions despite owning the land and facility, the Spicers fear this will not prove to be the case if the build goes ahead.

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Mr Spicer continued: "It's difficult to see how the problem of Canon law can be avoided.

"The logic of co-locations is that you've got all the facilities of Vincent's available next door if you need them, but if those services are restricted according to Canon law, it's very difficult to see any compromise that would not ultimately endanger women and restrict services."

The Spicers have already lodged the High Court summons against the State, the Health Minister and the Attorney General.

Mr Spicer also said he hoped that the first action of the new Taoiseach would be to abolish the "ridiculous plan" to effectively hand ownership of the new mother and baby hospital to the nuns.

He also called on the new Taoiseach to "replace the Minister of Health as well".

(Image: Collins)

The pair hope their legal action will focus politicians' minds on the "absurdity" of the proposed location with a Catholic religious order firmly in control of the entire campus and with healthcare professional staff required to conform to a medical ethics code informed by Canon law.

Mr Spicer said he and Norman, a law student and ex soldier in the Irish Army, were angry and dismayed at being put in a situation where they had to seek legal remedy for the failure of politicians to live up to their obligations under the Constitution.

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Launching the action this morning, Mr Spicer said: "It is almost impossible to believe that, given the past history of Church-State dealings – and the damage caused to thousands of women – that this proposal could emerge from a Government which knows the many negative outcomes from Church control of healthcare in the area of reproductive rights.

"Savita Halapanaver's death should have give the Minster for Health and the Cabinet good pause for thought."

The Spicers said it was difficult to estimate the cost of the legal challenge, but said they needed €50,000 and have set up a crowdfunding page that can be reached through their twitter feed @HolyMess1.